General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Complain to the families of the Pulse and Sandy Hook victims about your right to due process [View all]Donald Ian Rankin
(13,598 posts)Approximately 35k Americans are killed by guns every year, in a mixture of murder, accidents and suicides.
Approximately 35k of those killings would not be prevented by making it a little harder for the small number of people on the terrorist watch list to buy certain sorts of weapons.
What *would* be accomplished by that is further establishing the principle that the state can single people out to have freedoms that the rest of Americans enjoy as rights taken away without trial or due process.
I would be all in favour of this bill if it applied to everyone (although it still wouldn't do very much good; what America really needs is controls on handguns, and I see zero prospect of those being introduced). If it applied to people on the watch list after due process, I would view it as empty gesture politics but possibly an inspiring and positive gesture. As it stands, it's appalling and I very much hope it loses a 14th amendment challenge.